“Seeing is believing”
When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower. —Judges 8:9
Read Judges 8:1-9
The destructive dispute between the Israelites made the aftermath of the splendid victory very sad. Ephraim felt slighted because they had not received a call to arms against the Midianites. They felt that since they had received the blessing of the firstborn from Jacob instead of Manasseh, they should have been considered first. The question of who is greatest rears its ugly head again and again. But Scripture counsels against this self centredness: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil.2:5).
Gideon resolved the confrontation by stating that the Ephraimites had achieved more in the victory than Gideon had himself. Grace makes us put ourselves in the lowest position. Let us realize that life is not about honour, but about the works of the Lord.
The attitude of the inhabitants of Succoth and Penuel was even worse than the Ephraimites. When Gideon’s men were exhausted from battle, these people refused to provide them food. The men of Penuel and Succoth did not believe in the revelation of God’s grace in His deliverance of Israel from the Midianites. They committed treason by distrusting Gideon, revealing their unbelief in the power of the Lord who was working so clearly among them.
What does the expression “seeing is believing” mean?
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